Thirty Years Later
by ChocolateFrogCard
Summary: How Harry deals with the thirtieth anniversary of his parents' deaths. Canon compliant. I know Halloween was yesterday, but I never got around to uploading this.


Ginny Potter knew that October 31, 2011 would not be a good day.

She had dealt with other Halloweens before; usually Harry wasn't too depressed, and besides, she knew that all he needed was a comforting hug and the fact that he wasn't alone, he had a family, and they would always be there for him.

But this year would be different. This year was the thirtieth anniversary of James and Lily's deaths. Ginny knew that Harry wouldn't be able to look at James Sirius without thinking of James Sr.'s hair, and he'd look at Albus and see Lily's eyes, and he'd see Lily Luna and her vibrant red hair and he wouldn't be okay. Plus, this year the kids wanted to go trick-or-treating with the other Weasleys, now that they were old enough- 6, 5, and 3 respectively. They even had costumes picked out already. Ginny had nothing against Halloween, but she worried about how Harry would feel about his kids celebrating on this particular day. The children had no idea what was going on; Harry and Ginny had agreed to allow their kids to have a few years of innocence before Halloween was marked as a day of sadness forever.

OoOoOoOoO

Harry was worried. Tomorrow would mark the thirtieth anniversary of his parents' deaths. He didn't want to ruin it for everyone else; it was supposed to be a holiday, wasn't it? Ginny and the kids shouldn't have to suffer because of his childhood trauma.

James ran into the living room, proudly dressed as a pirate, trying out his costume for tomorrow. "Look, Daddy! I'm scary!" he said, making a face at Al, who yelled and ran to his mother, grabbing her legs.

Lily was sitting on the kitchen counter, clutching her black cat costume fondly to her chest. She loved it so much, she couldn't wait to wear it and wouldn't allow it out of her sight. "Mummy, pumpkin pie?" She reached over towards the pie that was cooling on the oven rack, her eyes blinking innocently.

Ginny laughed and shook her head, picking Lily up and detaching Al from her feet, leaving him to scurry into Harry's lap. "Sorry, Lil, not now," she said, grinning at her husband. "I swear, she's just like Ron," she whispered. He chuckled.

Ginny sat down next to Harry, putting her arm around his shoulder. "You okay?" she said softly, snuggling next to him.

"Yeah, fine, I guess," he sighed, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "Just thinking."

"I know the feeling."

"Yeah, trouble is; I'm not very good at it."

"Well, you're better than Ron, anyway" she whispered, holding his face in her hands and kissing him passionately. "That's a perk of marrying Hermione; she does a lot of the thinking for him."

James ran into the living room, caught sight of his parents kissing, and made a face. "EWWWW."

They broke apart, laughing. "Sorry, Jamesie. But anyway, isn't it bedtime for you?" asked Ginny, eyeing him.

He tried to look innocent, but failed terribly. "I needed a glass of milk."

"Why? You just had one half an hour ago."

"I get thirsty after I eat!"

Ginny leapt up, fearing the worst. "James, what did you eat?"

"Uh-oh," he said, dashing back into his room as fast as his little legs would carry him. Ginny raced into the kitchen.

"My pumpkin pie!" she wailed, examining the half-eaten mess that used to be a perfectly baked torte. "James, you're grounded! Wait, no, tomorrow night is Halloween; you're grounded next week!"

Harry walked into the kitchen and put his arms around her waist. "It's okay, I'll help you make another one."

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "As if."

"I can bake if I want to!"

"No, you can't."

"Yes, I can."

"No, you can't."

"Yes, I can."

"Remember last Christmas?"

"Okay, no, I can't." He laughed, and she smirked at him.

Then the realization sunk in, and he collapsed onto a chair, suddenly depressed. "Gin, tomorrow's Halloween."

She stood behind him, massaging his shoulders. "I know, Harry. Don't worry; I'll be here with you the whole time."

"Thanks, Gin," he said wearily, hugging her.

Halloween dawned bright and early. Harry awoke and was instantly struck with a pang of sadness. He wandered down to the kitchen, where Ginny was already whipping up a batch of pancakes and berry syrup. James, Al, and Lily were sitting around the breakfast table, eyeing the food hungrily.

Harry, not wanting to bring the general mood down, went back upstairs and ended up sleeping for another three hours. He awoke around noon and came back down just in time for lunch. It was strangely quiet. "Gin, where're the kids?"

Ginny looked up, sliding a plate of sandwiches onto the table. "At Bill and Fleur's place; they're all going trick-or-treating together with the rest of the kids. I figured it'd be better to get them away for a little bit, give you some peace."

"Thanks, Gin."

"Anytime."

"So," she said, slipping into the chair next to him, "D'you want to visit Godric's Hollow today? Because it's fine either way, but I thought it might make you feel better."

"That'd be nice, actually," said Harry, who realized that he would indeed feel better if he knew that he would be closer to his parents on that particular day.

"Right, so we'll eat and then go?"

"Sure."

They nibbled on a few sandwiches and then rose, neither of them possessing much of an appetite. Harry grasped Ginny's arm, ready to Apparate, and realized that he was shaking slightly.

She noticed too. "It's okay to be sad, you know."

They arrived at the church cemetery, walking through the kissing gate with respect, reverence, for the people buried just beyond it. Ginny quietly conjured two bouquets of flowers, handing one to Harry and clutching the other.

"Thanks." He realized he was saying that a lot that day; but he knew that he had a lot to be thankful for.

They reached Lily and James' grave in no time. Harry visited every year; he could find the tombstone in his sleep. They lay down their bouquets and walked around, to the ruined cottage, as they always did. They read the sign, knelt in respect. Harry traced his fingers over the messages of hope that were still there from years and years ago. For the first time that day, he felt like smiling.

"They really cared, didn't they?"

"They still do."

Harry stood up and brushed the dirt off his knees, filled with renewed strength. "I think I'm ready to go."

Ginny nodded and put a hand on his back. They exited back through the kissing gate, emerging back into the neighborhood. Trick-or-treaters raced through the streets, chattering excitedly. Harry thought about his children, who were probably out on a street just like this one, arguing about who had the most candy-

"Daddy! Daddy!" He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of a voice that he would recognize anywhere. The odd thing was, what was it doing here?

James, Al, and Lily all raced into his arms, practically knocking him over before he completely registered their presence. "Daddy! We missed you!"

He scooped them all into a large hug, swinging Lily around and ruffling James' hair. "What're you doing here?"

He looked up and saw Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Audrey, George, Angelina, Ron, Hermione, Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Molly, Lucy, Roxanne, Fred, Rose, and Hugo coming towards him. Surprised, he blinked a couple times and then hugged all the rest of the kids, looking at Ron with an amused and slightly befuddled expression on his face.

"They all wanted to come say hi," said Ginny, catching his eye and grinning.

Harry looked back, at the row of graves, at the ruined cottage, and knew that even though his parents weren't there anymore, as long as he had this amazing family with him, he would be okay.

_Lily watched Harry hug every single member of his large family. She smiled sadly, remembering when Harry was thirty years younger, when he was small enough to hold in her arms. When all it took to heal him was a bottle or a new nappy._

_ James squeezed her hand. "He's a big boy now, isn't he?"_

_ "Too big. And too much like you," she teased, watching Harry run his hand through his messy black hair before tickling little Al, who jumped nearly a foot in the air.._

_ "That kid's adorable," said James, chuckling._

_ "Because he has your hair?"_

_ "Because he has your eyes."_

_ "Harry really is okay, isn't he?" Lily remarked, looking down at her son with love and pride._

_ "I guess so, right? I mean, I was a little worried about today, but he looks fine."_

_ "How could he not be? I mean, look at all those adorable kids," she cooed._

_ James grinned. "And he's married a redhead. Apparently it runs in the family."_

_ "Her name's Ginny," Lily reminded him._

_ "Right, but I think it's the red hair that's the appealing part. That's why I liked you so much."_

_ "She's good for him. She makes him feel better."_

_ "In more ways than one," James snickered. Lily pretended to slap him._

_ "I really am glad that he's happy, you know," she said fondly._

_ "He's got a family who loves him as much as we do. He'll be all right."_

_ "He'll be all right," she agreed, and they pulled themselves away from the window to the mortal world._


End file.
